u/gelema5

This visual is shown in 3x2 when Jinshi tells Maomao that they took surplus from this year’s harvest from the southern Binan-shu region (未南州) to support the northern region that suffered locust plague. They asked for the help from the Bi clan (未の一族), which they apparently graciously obliged.

The child in the center is the main child featured on the movie poster! We already know their name from this post here. I also recognize the woman in red from the movie trailers. Judging by the clans that Jinshi is writing in 3x1, the Bi clan (未) is one of the 12 original clans, near the bottom to the left of the Ma clan (馬, which is Basen and Gaoshun’s clan).

Non-spoilers but some extra context from the novels: >!The Binan-shu region and the Bi clan aren’t mentioned in the novels here (they just say harvest was taken from the southern region), so I believe it’s fair to say it’s an anime-only addition to add intrigue and context for the movie later.!<

Season 2, Episodes 1-3 (watch on Crunchyroll | Netflix)

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Summary

• Episode 25: Maomao and Maomao. The spring garden party concludes without incident. Maomao returns to her regular life as Concubine Gyokuyou's taster. Meanwhile, novels become popular in the rear palace. Maomao wonders how this came to be, as novels were typically considered low-class. But behind the scenes lies Jinshi and his goals as manager of the rear palace.
• Episode 26: Caravan. The caravan stirs up excitement in the inner palace. The merchants bring all kinds of goods. However, something gives Maomao a bad feeling.
• Episode 27: Corpse Fungus. A concubine passes away, and a woman goes missing. Jinshi sends Maomao to investigate - not these incidents, but mushrooms growing in the rear palace.

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Discussion Questions

Feel free to join in the discussion at any time or with any topic. If your mind is blank, here's some questions to help you start your comment:

1. Favorite moments/scenes?
2. The first two episodes have so many small character moments, it was difficult to choose screenshots! Do you think S3 will follow the same pattern in the beginning?
3. Any thoughts about Shisui's introduction from S2?
4. Mirroring the end of S1E3, Maomao gives us an internal reflection on life at the end of S2E3. What's your take on these words, while the visuals show a hypothetical Maomao in a forest looking at an unknown, bright-blue mushroom?
   > A mushroom that grows on a corpse. If such a thing existed, what would it look like, and what effects would it have?

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Spoiler rules

Be warned that each discussion thread will contain full spoilers for the entire anime series! Tag spoilers for comparisons to other media and other shows.

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The next discussion thread will be on Sunday, September 6 @ 9am CDT / 2pm UTC and covers episodes 28-30 (S2 E4-6).

Season 1, Episodes 23-24 (watch on Crunchyroll | Netflix)

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Summary

• Episode 22: Blue Roses. A troubled Jinshi tells Maomao he needs to find blue roses for the net garden party. Realizing the request came from Lakan, Maomao agrees to help.
• Episode 23: Balsam and Woodsorrel. Maomao challenges Lakan to a series of Chinese chess matches. If she wins, he must buy the freedom of one of the Verdigris House courtesans.
• Episode 24: Maomao and Jinshi. Just as Lakan decides to buy Meimei's freedom, she opens a door to the courtyard, allowing the faint sound of a familiar voice to reach his ears.

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Discussion Questions

Feel free to join in the discussion at any time or with any topic. If your mind is blank, here's some questions to help you start your comment:

1. Favorite scenes/moments?
2. What do you think about Maomao's character arc regarding her family of origin? Was it mostly an informational reveal for the audience or did Maomao change significantly?
3. It appears that Jinshi never got a full explanation of Maomao's parents' relationship. How much do you think he understands?
4. Was there anything new that caught your eye on this rewatch?

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Spoiler rules

Be warned that each discussion thread will contain full spoilers for the entire anime series! Tag spoilers for comparisons to other media and other shows.

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The next discussion thread will be on Sunday, September 6 @ 9am CDT / 2pm UTC and covers episodes 25-27 (S2 E1-3).

Season 1, Episodes 19-21 (watch on Crunchyroll | Netflix)

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Summary

• Episode 19: Chance or Something More. When Maomao hears that some ritual items were stolen during the warehouse fire, she suspects the theft may be connected to other recent events.
• Episode 20: Thornapple. Maomao explains the connection between the events leading up to the ceremony. She later hears something about Suirei that piques her curiosity.
• Episode 21: How to Buy Out a Contract. When Lihaku asks Maomao how much it would cost to buy out a courtesan, she realizes that he's worried about Pairin and offers some advice.

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Discussion Questions

Feel free to join in the discussion at any time or with any topic. If your mind is blank, here's some questions to help you start your comment:

1. Favorite scenes/moments?
2. Was there anything leading up to the E19 reveal that you found interesting on this rewatch?
3. How do you feel about this show as a romance vs. as a mystery?
4. Lots of interesting character moments in E20-21, between Gaoshun, Lihaku, and even Pairin! Which of these three is your favorite?

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Spoiler rules

Be warned that each discussion thread will contain full spoilers for the entire anime series! Tag spoilers for comparisons to other media and other shows.

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The next discussion thread will be on Wednesday, September 2 @ 9am CDT / 2pm UTC and covers episodes 22-24.

Season 1, Episodes 16-18 (watch on Crunchyroll | Netflix)

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Summary

• Episode 16: Lead. A court goldsmith dies, leaving behind three sons and a somewhat cryptic will. Maomao sets out to unravel the mystery of their inheritance.
• Episode 17: A Jaunt Around Town. After Maomao gives Jinshi a dramatic makeover at his request, she finds herself donning a disguise of her own and accompanying him into town.
• Episode 18: Lakan. Maomao visits the Verdigris House and attends to a sick courtesan with an unfortunate past. Jinshi learns a startling truth while talking with Lakan.

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Discussion Questions

1. What was your favorite dramatic moment/scene?
2. What was your favorite comedic moment/scene?
3. Do you prefer the episodes with mysteries or the slice of life episodes?
4. Was there anything that caught your eye on this rewatch?

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Spoiler rules

Be warned that each discussion thread will contain full spoilers for the entire anime series! Tag spoilers for comparisons to other media and other shows.

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The next discussion thread will be on Sunday, August 30 @ 9am CDT / 2pm UTC and covers episodes 19-21.

There were positive responses to the interest thread so we’ll be running a rewatch discussion series during the countdown to Season 3! Eight weeks, six episodes per week running from August-September.

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Schedule

Date	Episodes	Discussion Link (to be added)
August 9	1-3	Link
August 12	4-6	Link
August 16	7-9
August 19	10-12
August 23	13-15
August 26	16-18
August 30	19-21
September 2	22-24
September 6	25-27
September 9	28-30
September 13	31-33
September 16	34-36
September 20	37-39
September 23	40-42
September 27	43-45
September 30	46-48

Discussion threads will be posted Sundays & Wednesdays @ CDT 9am / UTC 2pm

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Spoiler rules

Be warned that each discussion thread will contain full spoilers for the entire anime series! Tag spoilers for comparisons to other media and other shows.

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FAQ

• When does Season 3 start airing? I couldn’t find an exact date. At this point, we only know the first cour will start airing in October 2026 on Crunchyroll.
• Why are there three episodes per post? Since this sub is still quite small, having an episode discussion almost every day would get repetitive and crowd out other content.
• Where can I watch the show? Crunchyroll | Netflix

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I hope people join for as many or as few discussion threads as you want. First discussion thread will be tomorrow!

Full spoilers for Season 1!

I’ve seen so many people voting that Granny is a horrible person so I wanted to open up a character analysis about why she kept Lakan apart from Fengxian all those years. Feel free to keep your opinions if you want, but if you hear me out that’s all I want to accomplish here.

There’s a lot in The Apothecary Diaries that is left up to interpretation based on sparse evidence, so I’ll list out some evidence that matters here first:

1. Lakan tells us in his flashback that Fengxian’s personality is almost completely made of pride
2. Within the three years he was gone, Fengxian sent her and Maomao’s fingers to Lakan as a curse. It appears to be one of the last letters she sent as it was not in the middle of the pile
3. After the three years, Fengxian never tried to contact Lakan again. We know this because he believed she was dead
4. At the time in the show, Fengxian has late stage syphilis, one of the symptoms being dementia (true in the real world too)
5. Maomao mentions that Fengxian used to chase her out of the room but no longer does. This suggests that, because of her dementia, she might forgotten who Maomao is. It’s possible she may have forgotten all her memories that led to Maomao existing.
6. Meimei is the only person who knew the night that Fengxian intentionally made a bet with Lakan that led to her getting pregnant, and is also the only one who enjoys spending time with him at the time of the show.

So this character analysis involves additional character analysis of Fengxian and conjecture about the relationship between Fengxian and Granny.

We don’t know for sure what Fengxian told Granny or anyone else about what happened between her and Lakan, but we can be sure Granny didn’t think well of him. Perhaps she believed he forced himself on her, or perhaps she figured out that it was consensual but still holds Lakan responsible for abandoning Fengxian to the streets for three years.

What might Fengxian have felt and said during that time? She was a woman with a lot of pride, all of which was stripped away when she devalued herself. After months or years of writing unanswered letters, she finally cursed Lakan and stopped writing to him for good. I can’t imagine she would allow herself to stoop to begging in her letters. I imagine every letter was filled with prideful rage that he abandoned her. I think her resentment built up to a boiling point.

At some point after Fengxian sent the final letter, I think it’s very likely from the evidence that Granny understood Fengxian was never going to contact Lakan again and would never want to be with him for the rest of her life, and that she blamed Lakan for everything that happened to her. Granny is wise enough to have known, that if not for her giving Fengxian a place to stay, Lakan would have been Fengxian’s only chance to not die in the streets. But once Fengxian closed her heart to him completely, Granny respected that wish. Even after Granny interacted with Lakan many times in the following years, she understood that Fengxian did not have the heart to swallow her pride and accept Lakan again. Fengxian vehemently never wanted to see him again, and Granny protected her from him.

After many years, the dementia progressed to the point she likely doesn’t even recognize Maomao or remember anything about the pregnancy. Especially in S1E24, we get a sense that she’s even lost her characteristic pride. It’s a very understandable thing for Granny to have continued to respect Fengxian’s wishes by keeping Lakan away from her. She still intends to keep them apart in E24 even after it’s clear how much Lakan loves her, because Granny wasn’t doing it out of cruelty or stupidity, but out of respect for Fengxian’s wishes. Meimei stops her to help her notice that Fengxian, now that her memory has worsened, no longer holds resentment to Lakan and is actually happier being able to play Go with him every day.

I love that it’s such a very nuanced moral issue and fits right into the very nuanced moral story that is The Apothecary Diaries. For those who have loved ones with dementia, it’s a common issue to not know whether to respect their wishes pre-dementia or to respect their new wishes post-dementia. In the end, I think Meimei’s crying that Fengxian should have been more honest wasn’t just about wanting her to have been honest with Lakan the night they slept together. I think it was also about the 17 years following that Fengxian could never be honest or let go of her pride to admit she loved Lakan still.

So what are your thoughts? Do you think this read adds any depth or balance to the characters where it might have felt hollow and unloving before?